


Starlight in my Soul

by Sandtalon



Category: Starlight Brigade
Genre: Gen, bad puns at one point whoops - Freeform, im using the music video and one tumblr post with names to write this help, vauge descriptions of space warfare - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-27
Updated: 2019-05-27
Packaged: 2020-03-20 03:54:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18984733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sandtalon/pseuds/Sandtalon
Summary: Strive was born with stars in their blood and a call in their soul. It wasn't a choice not to answer.Catch me getting over my writing block by retelling a whole music video. idk much abt this, but it looked cool so I just looked up character names and basic personality traits. if its too ooc or problematic lmk and i'll fix it as best I can.





	Starlight in my Soul

Strive shouldn’t go. They shouldn’t go to the smoking crater; they should follow the sound their father’s voice home and leave ships to rust where they’ve dropped. But they can’t.

They’ve been looking to the sky and reaching for something so far away but so tantalizingly close at the same time every night of their life. _It’s not fair,_ they think.

Their reflection stares back in the dark polished metal, stubborn and defiant all at once. They were never meant to live their whole life on one lonely planet. The call in their heart, in their mind, in their _very soul_ has spoken otherwise. When Strive touches the ship, the song in their heart drags them through just as much as the ship’s walls.

The cockpit morphs around them, changing into exactly what they’d always expected a starship to look like. Controls shed away the ship’s base material, rising into shapes that perfectly mirror the layout they’d drawn in the dirt as a child. Strive knows instantly the ship was made for them. They can visit the stars now. They’re coming home. They’re leaving home.

They’re leaving father behind, either way.

 _It’s too dangerous_ , father had said. _You’ll get yourself killed out there. You don’t even know what you’re looking for!_

They do. They just don’t know how to say it.

_Let someone else go. The war will be over someday, we just need to focus on surviving._

It fades away to the song in Strives heart. The call of the sky is louder than the call of the dirt will ever be. They’ll search until it’s answered. They wont stand by while the world wastes away into nothing. When Strive places their hands over the controls, it lights up just how they’d dreamed only a thousand times better because _this is real._

They rest their hands on the controls, and it’s like Strive is the ship. Wings shoot out of either side and now they’re _flying._

It’s such a beautifully fantastic feeling, as if everything they’ve ever wanted were combined into the weightless joy of shooting into the heavens. Lights weave themselves into one and Strive knows instinctively that they’re amidst the stars. They’re on their way.

 

\---

 

Strive looks over their cockpit’s controls anxiously. So much had happened in the last seven rotations.

Meeting the other brigade members was great. Sure, they were all wild and different in their own ways- Dr. Sung had greeted him first with a bad pun he referred to as a ‘dad joke’ and kept the team united in roughly the same way. Commander Meouch’s confidence is infectious, and a stark contrast to Lord Phobos’s quieter personality. There was always something off about Ninja and Havve, as if they’d seen more of the war and simply dealt with it in their own ways. Ninja with a frankly terrifying stare and Havve with unwavering courage.

In short, the brigade was a bunch of mismatched, different personalities waiting to combust; held together by dad jokes, witty banter, and teamwork. It was perfect. They’d explored the sky together and bonded over horrible cooking and different perceptions of time.

Strive found that their ship was agile to greater extents than they’d ever imagined. They could complete quick turns and rolls the other pilots could only dream of, and the sheer lightning quick pace Strive could accelerate to left them breathless. It was more than they had hoped could be true; greater than they’d imagined.

 _I could visit the stars like this,_ one part of them whispered _. I could save lives with this,_ the other called back. They decided to fight, to fly, to live as much as possible and as deeply as they could. This was worth dying for. They’d been waiting their whole life to see the stars. Someone else out there probably was, too. So when Strive stood at the meeting alongside the Starlight Brigade, they lifted their head up and with a confident voice announced that _yes, I’ll do whatever it takes._

The same boundless confidence was likely what had Captain (nobody knew her name, it was just… Captain) suggesting to such a wild plan. They would fly at the mothership, and right through it, therefore breaking it to pieces. By hitting all six of the ship’s weak points at once, they’d get through. Somehow.

It was idiotic, dangerous, foolhardy and would leave Strive grounded if they were younger and father knew. It was also the only option.

 

\---

 

Engines warm up and Strive looks to the hangar doors. Their fate is out there. All they’ve ever wanted was to be amongst the stars- to seize the future with their own two hands. And now- it’s time. Strive takes a deep breath, wanting so badly to be out there but knowing they have to leave in order. The ships warm up slowly, so they have a moment to themselves. A moment to breathe before it starts. Tremors shake the hangar as fighters bombard their outer defenses.

Dr. Sung’s cheery voice echoes through the coms just before they exit into the chaos. “Alright lads, we’ve got a fantastic flight ahead. Fair weather and smooth sailing-“

Commander Meouch interrupts with a hearty laugh. “Not for long once they cut us loose!”

Strive chuckles at this, and Dr. Sung begins directing the plan of attack. “Meouch and Strive- head for the ship two clicks past port. Use the old misdirection and bait you’ve been practicing.”

“Hell yeah, fluffy hair squad!”

Strive grins, performing a flip for the fun of it just as much to avoid a hit. “Let’s do this.”

“Will you shut it with that fluffy hair squad? We don’t all have that hair type.” Ninja’s voice is rough. “Also, Phobos, I think you’re with me.”

“Thanks, but it sounds like someone’s mad they don’t use proper conditioner.”

“Ninja, Phobos, you’re together. You’re our two stealth flyers, so use that. I’m backing up Havve. We’re taking point.”

Strive can practically hear the Ninja’s eye-roll at the dropped topic. “Okay, but just saying, I will never attain that level of fluff.”

“Neither will I,” Havve adds, “But I’m rather happy with my current design.”

“We’re together till the end, right?” Strive asks abruptly. The others settle down under the great weight of reality.

“’Course we are.” Phobos’s voice is laidback, even under the current stakes. “We made a promise, remember?”

“Together till the last grave,” Havve quotes. “We’re not leaving you behind, kid.”

“…I’m older than all of you put together.”

_“What?”_

“Look alive, everyone!” Dr. Sung interrupts, laughing wildly. “Hangar doors are open and the party’s about to start! I’ve already gone ahead and… _planet.”_

The sheer awfulness of that pun cuts off any other commentary. Strive focuses on the controls, flipping between enjoying the exhilaration of flight and narrowly avoiding attacks. It’s a chaotic dance and they wouldn’t have it any other way. When they fly though light and darkness with the sounds of battle ringing in their ears, Strive looks to the stars beyond. They’ll make it through.

Strive turns to the target, twisting between droids that shoot each other in their haste to catch the small starship. The agile ship hits the target fist, and on either side other members of the Starlight Brigade slide into position. Together their engines roar, forcing their way through the enemy force field. The open heavens glint beyond, and Strive focuses on that, instead. They’ll fly through, to greater adventure.

Strive catches a shout through the coms before their ship shakes. They’re thrown off balance, and struggle up to see the faces of the brigade - _shocked, scared, frightened, concerned, speechless_ – fizzle out of view. The window is last to go and Strive looks out to see a row of untouched ships.

The window begins to close.

“No,” Strive whispers, as stars are hidden from their sight one by one. _“No!”_

They reach out, the same need to be there, to see the stars as ever. They can’t die here. They can’t lose this when it’s so close-

Strive collapses before the window fades entirely.

They’ve always known that starlight has pumped through their heart-stone just as much as blood- it’s as much a part of them as the bounce of their walk and light in their chest.  Without it, there’s nothing.

So Strive reaches out for the stars inside their soul, and holds the light close. It’s theirs, and all they will ever need to be. Strive feels fire coursing through their veins, speaking it’s call as loud as the beat of their heart. When they open their eyes it’s to a lit cockpit and Strive doesn’t stop to wonder why.

The stand on steady legs and grab the controls. The ship rams into the force field, breaking a good chunk away.

“YEAHH!” They don’t know who yelled out, lost in the storm of music flowing through their veins, raging like fire and pooling through their soul like sweet moonlight. Strive can’t explain it, so they yell wordlessly and ram the barrier again. The other ships join, breaking through one by one. Together they put each ship into full throttle and pushing though until it _s h a t t e r s ._

There’s a moment- a single second, where Strive sees themself. Their reflection looks back with wide eyes and glowing joy before they fly into each other. They’ve changed.

They fly though into the new reality, the new space and time that consumes itself over and over until nothing remains but corrupted space. This is the mothership. Each member of the brigade grits their teeth - or jaw should they lack teeth – and flies on.

When they break through freedom had never been so light. The enemy ships are all destroyed by the resulting system fall out. Together the Starlight Brigade races on through the sky, a myriad of color trailing behind them to tell all the planets below that _yes, you are free._ Through it all, Strive looks up at the stars.

 _I’m coming,_ they think. _I’ll fly however long it takes, until I’ve seen it all._

Finally, they are free to soar.

\---

 

Once it’s all over, Strive sits besides their father, watching a million pinpricks of light.

“Did you find it?” Father asks quietly, and Strive thinks back to their friends and smiles.

“Yeah, I think I did.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hey!! idk if yall read earlier but I am literally flying blind on this one. leave a comment if anything seems wrong bc I usually have a ton more info than this when writing!!!
> 
> Edit: grammer/spelling/etc\  
> Edit 2: more spelling errors found (also I love u all in the comments and pls know that it makes my day whenever I see ppl enjoying this so pls live your dreams and never stop reaching for the stars, I support all of u so much)


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